Slipped Away
by Cabbage Rose
Summary: A Sangocentric songfic. The wind tunnel did not have to be the end of Miroku. He could have just slipped away...


_**Slipped Away**_

**Author's Notes: **This has character death in it (if you couldn't tell by the summary) so if you are highly sensitive, I suggest you don't read it. I can't stop you from sending flames, either, but it was your choice to read this. I for one found it hard to make this, for I am a sensitive person, but I think that this was another way of looking at it. Just to tell you, I don't know much about Buddhism and I apologize (you will see what I mean when you read this). This originally was going to be a Harry Potter fic but the prophecy sort of messed it up. Putting this song to an Inuyasha related death made more sence too. Its a song fic. So lets begin.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any other character related to the series. I also do not own 'Slipped Away' by Avril Lavigne.

_'Na na _

_na na na_

_na na_

_I miss you _

_I miss you so bad'_

I woke up pretty excited that morning. Naraku was defeated and my brother was saved. Plus, Miroku and I could be together. Or, that was what I thought.

I already knew they were there because of the pain and the aching, but I looked down and discovered I had deep gashes on my legs and sides. I wondered if I was asleep for a long time. I didn't remember anything, at the moment, besides the scream of pain Naraku yelled. Just the thought of it gave me satisfaction. Who knew that by the end of the day, I would hate that bastard Naraku ever more.

'_I don't forget you_

_Oh it's so sad…_

_I hope you can hear me_

_I remember it clearly,'_

I looked around, eager to see if any of my friends were there and ok. Kagome was sleeping near me; she seemed disturbed. She kept whimpering every so often. She must have been having bad dreams. I looked to the other side of the room and saw Inuyasha, standing up with a solemn look on his face. He was leaning against the wall, facing us. I thought he was awake, but then heard a soft rumble from his throat. He was sleeping. I found it very peculiar that Inuyasha was sleeping inside instead of the trees. I guessed that since Naraku was gone, we wouldn't need as much protection while sleeping. I wondered if Miroku was there. I gave the room another look; he wasn't. At the time, I was relieved, thinking that Miroku would try something while I was sleeping. But, despite that thought, I still wanted to see him, so I tried to stand. The pain in my legs intensified. I gave a scream and fell back onto the futon.

_'The day you slipped away._

_Was the day I found it won't be the same!_

_Oh...'_

That was when the others woke up. I cursed to myself for being so foolish. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to walk without help because of my legs. Kagome weakly crawled toward me, trying her best to smile. I could tell it was forced though; I thought it was because of the pain she was in and pitied her. Inuyasha, bruised and battered but still in walking condition, walked over and sat at the edge of my futon. They all stared at me with sad eyes, and said nothing. I wondered what was wrong. I thought about it for a while, until a thought struck me. I wanted to dismiss it immediately, but I knew that it was possible that it had happened. I asked, "Where's houshi-sama?"

_'Na na_

_na na na _

_na na_

_I didn't get around to kiss you_

_Good bye on the hand.'_

My worst fear was confirmed. Kagome started crying silently next to me. Inuyasha looked down, as though trying to hide his own sadness. I already knew the answer, but Kagome said anyway, "Sango-chan...Miroku-sama died while we were battling Naraku." Kagome's tears gained their gravity as more fell. I tried not to cry; I did not want to in front of them. It was no use though; a single tear dropped from my eyes and onto my shirt. More were brimming on my eyelids. I asked, trying to keep my voice normal, "What happened?" Kagome was too emotional to talk anymore; her face was damp and her eyes were red. She was sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for breath every few seconds. That was when Inuyasha looked up, went next to Kagome to comfort her, and began. As he was talking, I remembered more and more of it.

_'I wish that I could see you again._

_I know that I can't... _

_I hope you can hear me_

_I remember it clearly,'_

_The final battle had begun. Naraku was either going to die, or we were going to die at the hands of him. Inuyasha gave the first swing of his Tetsusaiga. It missed, narrowly. We were stronger since the last time we battled him, but he was stronger too. I thrust my Hiraitkotsu at him, dividing some of his tentacles from his body. Kagome was shooting purifying arrows at him but with no prevail, he broke them with his tentacles. Miroku put up as many barriers around us as he could, for some of Naraku's poisonous insects were trying to attack us from behind. It was no use; Naraku kept us moving and Miroku's barriers weren't big enough to protect us. Then he did what he thought was best; he sucked up his insects with his wind tunnel until there were no more. When I noticed, I yelled to him, "Houshi-sama! Don't do that, you will get poisoned!" By that time, though, all of the insects were gone. Then he joined the battle with us. We kept whipping at his tentacles while Inuyasha and Kagome went for the heart. We did this for a long time; we were getting severely tired. The first person finally went down. A tentacle hurled Kagome into a tree. I looked on, worried, and while I was distracted I got thrown down myself. I was on the line of unconsciousness when I saw Miroku land near me; he had been thrown as well. I wondered how we all, except Inuyasha, got so easily distracted. We were exhausted, and Inuyasha was a hanyou, so I guessed that was it. "YOU BASTARD! You will pay for this!" Inuyasha yelled. The battle got fiercer._

_"Sango..." A faint, distant voice called. It was Miroku, and even though he was near, it seemed very difficult for him to speak. I crawled over to him with a lot of effort, and asked, "Are you ok?" Miroku shook his head and said, "I knew I was going to die by the hands of Naraku. I didn't suspect I'd die in battle, though. Perhaps it is better that way." I immediately scolded him for saying such nonsense, "You are going to live, housh-sama. You have enough will to. Inuyasha might be done soon..." I looked back and saw that Inuyasha was progressing in killing Naraku. Miroku smiled weakly and said, "Well we shall hope. But you promise me something." I rolled my eyes and blushed lightly, despite the situation, saying, "I already promised to bare your children, houshi-sama." Miroku smiled a little wider, and laughed lightly. "No, not that. Promise me you will live through this and live on." I didn't know what he was talking about. Of course I'd live through this; I had been in worse shape before. When I told him that, he reached over and squeezed my hand. Then he fell into unconsciousness. I looked at the hand in mine and then at him. Something was wrong; I could feel it. I just didn't know what. I knew that he sucked a lot of those insects up and got some damage from Naraku, but was it enough to die from? I didn't have much more time to think about it. Inuyasha screamed his final attack on Naraku. A few seconds later an ear-splitting scream came from Naraku. I heard Inuyasha rush over to Kagome before I, too, fell unconcious._

_'The day you slipped away. _

_Was the day I found it won't be the same!_

_Oh...'_

My reverie ended, as did Inuyasha's tale. They both looked at me, waiting for a reaction. It was silent besides Kagome's constant gulping of air and sniffling. I was in too much shock to do anything at the moment; I just sat there and stared back. Eventually Kagome's noise lessened and I found that I could talk. I didn't think I could have, but I could. There was something I wanted to know; I wanted to see him again, at least for one last time. I asked, with hope in my voice, "Did you guys wait to bury the body?" Inuyasha nodded. He said, "Yes. Kagome thought it would be better if we buried him with everyone awake, especially you. We should do it today." He seemed very cautious and chose his words carefully; I knew this was the real thing because of that. He was afraid to hurt me, afraid to hurt Kagome, and afraid to hurt himself.

Kagome got up and woke the younger child in her sleeping bag. She tried to gain her composure as the child stirred. "Shippou...wake up. We are going to...send Miroku to Heaven today." Sango hadn't looked at it in that perspective; perhaps Miroku would be happier in the afterlife. Shippou got up and started crying immediately, looking at me instead of Kagome. "We are?" He asked. I paused for a few seconds and tried my best to smile. "We are." Shippou went to me and snuggled into my arm, as if to comfort both him and I. I was grateful for his kindness.

_'I had my wake up,_

_Won't you wake up?_

_I keep asking why!_

_I can't take it._

_It wasn't fake._

_It happened you past by.'_

Seeing his body made it real. I mean, I knew it had happened, but somehow I had a shred of hope that this was some horrible dream. It wasn't. It was real and we were going to burying him. Shippou and Kirara supported me while I walked. Inuyasha was carrying Miroku, trying his best to avoid Miroku's face, as Kagome silently cried behind him. I asked Kagome as we walked to Miroku's destined gravesite, "What do you think killed him, Kagome-chan? He seemed to be in a decent condition when I saw him last..." I tried my best not to cry as I thought about my last conversation with him. Kagome tried to sound composed but her voice was strained, "I don't know exactly. I do think it was the insects that really did it, though. The poison got more and more effective as time passed, and I suppose he died while he was unconscious. I can't believe he had to die...He was protecting us and he died because of it!" Kagome cried some more. I had a feeling Kagome was blaming herself for his death; she did not know how to make the antidote to the poison. I felt sorry for her, but I wasn't ready to show any emotion yet. I kept my emotions within myself...the time was not right then.

Nothing else was said as we made it to the grave. Inuyasha started using his claws to make a big enough hole. Shippou and Kirara did their best to help too, as Kagome and I cupped the dirt in our hands and threw it away. This went on for hours in utter silence. We did nothing but dig, only stopping for lunch and to relieve ourselves. The sun slowly shrank back into the earth and the moon and stars started appearing in the jet-black sky. Eventually the hole was big enough. Inuyasha carefully lowered Miroku into his grave.

_'Now you're gone_

_Now you're gone_

_There you go_

_There you go _

_Somewhere I can't bring you back._

_Now you're gone_

_Now you're gone _

_There you go _

_There you go _

_Somewhere you're not coming back!'_

Once the body was settled and Inuyasha was out of the grave, Kagome suggested, "We should say a few words...I will go first. Miroku...you were a great friend and companion. You were always so kind and understanding...when you weren't acting lecherous." A small smile appeared on Kagome's face, even though tears were falling from her eyes. Inuyasha went next, "Um...you were a great fighter. Always kicked ass with your wind tunnel and holy powers. Always put me in my place when I was acting stupid." Shippou was shaking so badly that we could hardly understand him, but I think he said, "You were like a father figure to me. Inuyasha just isn't father material, y'know?" Inuyasha softly thumped Shippou on the head. Everyone looked at me expectantly. I didn't know what I wanted to say. There was so many things I could have said and I didn't know what. After a while, Kagome said, "...Maybe we should leave Sango-chan alone for a few minutes. We'll be back." Before leaving, Inuyasha took a stick and stuck it into the ground. It marked Miroku's grave. Kagome put flowers around it and Shippou some pictures he brought with them. Then they left me in peace.

_'The day you slipped away._

_Was the day I found it won't be the same!_

_Oh...'_

And now here I am, sitting next to the grave of my...love. I'll admit it: I love him. I just can't believe that things didn't work out for him, for me...for both of us. It hurts so much. We could have had a life together, and it has all been shattered. Now I let my tears fall, unafraid of who sees or what people think. He was my saving grace. He was always there when I needed him, either in combat or just when I needed to talk to someone. He was the only one who knew how to make me laugh or how to annoy me to the deep depths of my soul. He was the only one that could turn me from a hardened taijiya to a blushing schoolgirl, like Kagome. There was something about him that was just special...he meant so much to me. He still does. I think I might not have lived if it wasn't for him. With all that I had been through, there had seemed like there was no hope. We were alike in that sense. Perhaps that is why I feel so connected to him. Now I have to live for him. I promised him I would. I think that is what he meant by when he asked me to live. Right now, as all these thoughts are swirling in my head, and as I see Kagome and the others approach, I say nothing. I know he knew how I felt about him all along.

As Inuyasha puts the dirt into the grave, I think about the way he died. Would he have preferred to die by the wind tunnel? Of course he wouldn't! But in battle? That is a severely painful death indeed. Would he have wanted to live on to be an old man, with his love beside him? Or would that be too boring for a man like Miroku? I keep pondering these questions as the grave is once again filled. Before we leave, I take my hair ribbon out of my hair and tie in onto the stick. As we walk back to the village, I look behind me to see my ribbon sway in the breeze. I finally guessed that this was the way Miroku would have wanted it. Not as a coward, fearing the day his wind tunnel consumes him, but as a warrior defending those he cares about. He didn't need to die with a big bang. He could have just...slipped away.

_'Na na_

_na na na _

_na na_

_I miss you...'_


End file.
